Track sander



P 1937- J. H. HANLON ET AL ,092,063

' TRACK SANDER Filed June 17, 1956 II t w i? 1 .31 .i

.46 rneys.

UNITED STATES PATENT orsice TRACK SANDER John H. Hanlon, Belmont, and William J. Han,-

lon, Fitchburg, Mass,

assignors to Hanlon Locomotive Sander Company, Winchester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts 7 Application June 17, 1936, Serial No. 85,678

6 Claims.

This invention relates" to track sandersfofr v1ocomotives and the like, and especially to sanders of the pnuematic type in which air under pressure is employed to draw sand from a sand box or 5" reservoir and deliver it to a discharge pipe leading to the tracks adjacent the wheels.

The invention has for its object to provide an improved device of this character which is adapted to produce an even and gentle flow of sand from the sand box to the rail when the air is turned on and prevent leakage of sand at other times; in which scouring oi'the walls of the passages and other parts of the apparatus by the sand'under the influence of the air blast is reduced to a minimum; in which stones, lumps of sand, or the like tending to obstruct the flow can be readily removed even when the device is in operation; and in, which scale or other impurities in the air supply will be preventedfrom clogging 20 the air passages and can be readily removed from the apparatus.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention" will best be understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawing, this, however, having been chosen for purposes'of exemplification merely, as it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the invention, as defined by the claims hereunto appended, can be otherwise.

embodied without departure from its spirit and In said drawing;

, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a sander embodying,

. the invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical. section thereof; Fig. 3 is a transverse've'rtical section taken sub As shown in the drawing, the device comprises a body or casing I5 having formed therein an unobstructed, substantially horizontal sand passage, l6 of relatively small cross section in proportion to its length and having straight parallel walls. At one end the passage l 6 is suitably supplied with sand, and to this end, as shown, said passages communicates at its top with an upright, substantially vertically disposed sand supply conduitor pipe ll leading from a, sand box or reservoir l8.-., Atits, opposite end the passage l6 communicates at its-bottom with a downwardly disposed sand dischargaconduit or pipe l9 leading to the rails.

Preferably, and as shown in Fig. 2,

said discharge conduit is disposed with its axis perpendicular to the axis of the passage I6 at its point of junction with the latter, although, if preferred, it may be disposed at an inclination as shown at I So in Fig. 5.

Projecting into the passage l6 at the end thereof adjacent the opening of the sand supply conduit I1 is an air nozzle 28 so disposed as to direct an air blast axially of said passage or parallel to the walls thereof. At the opposite end of the passage I6 is provided a second air nozzle 2| disposed in the top of said passage directly opposite the entrance to the sand discharge pipe l9 and arranged to direct a blast of air into the latter. The outer ends of the nozzles 20 and 2| project into chambers 22 and 23 having cleanout openings normally closed by removable plugs 24 and 25. The chambers 22 and. 23 are connected by an air passage 26, and air under pressure from a suitable source is supplied to one of them, herein the chamber 23, by a pipe 21. The nozzles 29 and 2| are of equal capacity, that is'to say, formed with ports of equal size so that, by reason of the air 3 passage 26, air is discharged under equal pressure from both of said nozzles.

Communicating with the sand passage I6 adjacent the air nozzle 20 is a short upwardlyinclined cleanout passage 28 normally closed by a removable plug 29. Additional cleanout plugs 30 and 3| may, if desired, be provided immediately under the nozzle 2-0 and at the end of the passage 1 6 adjacent the nozzle 2| respectively.

In operation, when the air is turned off sand fiowsby gravity from the sand box l8 through the supply conduit ll into the end of the passage l6 adjacent the nozzle 20, but, due to the horizontal arrangement of said passage and its small cross section in proportion to its length, does not fill said passage for a sufiicient distance to escape into the discharge pipe [9. When the air is turned on, the air jet from the nozzle 20 causes the sand to be blown through the passage IS, the supply being continuously replenished through the conduit I! as the sand is removed from beneath the latter. It will be observed that the flow of sand is at all times away from the nozzle 20, except as said sand falls by gravity thereon, so that there is no tendency to scour or abrade the nozzle. It will also be observed that by reason of the straight unobstructed form of the passage l6 and of the fact that the jet from the nozzle 20 is directed axially and parallel to the walls thereof, the tendency of the sand to scour or abrade said walls at any point is'reduced to a minimum. When the sand stream travelling toward the left in Fig. 2 under the impulse of the jet from the nozzle 20 reaches the point opposite the entrance to the delivery conduit l9, it is struck by the jet from the nozzle 2| and its course diverted directly into said conduit, It will be observed that this sudden diversion of the course of said sand by the jet from the nozzle 2! prevents said sand from reaching the end of the passage 46 and also diverts it away from the nozzle 2!, which is thus virtually out of the path of said flow, so that scouring or abrasion of the nozzle 2| and of the casing wall at the end of the casing l5 are likewise prevented or reduced to a minimum.

It has been found in practice that, by causing the nozzles 20 and 2! to discharge air jets of equal force, as above described, it is possible to operate the device effectively with relatively low air pressure and to obtain a much more gentle and even flow of sand, with less turbulence and consequent abrasion of the parts, than has heretofore been possible with multiple jet sanders wherein the forces are not so balanced.

Should the flow of sand be obstructed by stones,

lumps or the like falling through the conduit ll into the passage 5 about the nozzle 20, the plug 29 can be removed and said stones or lumps removed or broken up through the cleanout passage 28. It will be observed that at'this'point the fiow' of air and sand, 'due to the injector action of the nozzle 28 when the air is turned on, is away from the cleanoutpassage 28, so that re- 'moval of the plug 29 does not result in sand being blown out of said passage, the tendency being, on the contrary, to draw air in through said passage.

The air chambers 22 and 23 constitute scale traps in which scale and other impurities in the air supply are collected and prevented from reaching and clogging the passages through the nozzles 20 and 2!. From time to time the plug 24 can be removed, whereupon, by admitting air under pressure through the pipe 21, collected impurities can be blown from the chamber 23 through the passage 26 and, together with those in the chamber 22, discharged from the apparatus through the cleanout opening so provided. Removal of the plugs 24 and 25 also affords access to the nozzles 20 and 2| for the purpose of insertion, removal, replacement, cleaning, or repair.

We claim:

1. A track sander having an unobstructed horizontal sand passage, means for supplying sand to one end of said passage, a sand-delivery conduit angularly disposed with respect to said passage communicating with said passage at the opposite end, an air nozzle inthe first named end'of said passage arranged to discharge a jetof air through said passage in a direction substantially parallel thereto, a second air nozzle opposite the entrance to said delivery conduit and arranged todischarge a jet of air into the latter and in the direction of said conduit, and means for supplying air under pressure to both of said nozzles simultaneously continuously during sandingof the track.

2. A track sander having an unobstructed horizontal sand passage with substantially straight parallel walls, a sand supply conduit communicating with said passage at one end thereof, a sand delivery conduit angularly disposed with respect to said passage communicating with said passage at the opposite end thereof, an air nozzle adja cent the opening of said supply conduit and arranged to discharge a jet of air in a direction parallel to said walls, a second air nozzle opposite 4 the entrance to said delivery conduit and arranged to discharge a jet of air into the latter and in the direction of said conduit, and means for supplying air to both of said nozzles simultaneously continuously during sanding of the track.

3. A track sander having an unobstructed horizontal sand passage with substantially straight parallel Walls, a sand supply conduit communicating with said passage at one end thereof, a sand delivery conduit angularly disposed with respect to said passage communicating with said passage at the opposite end thereof, an air nozzle adjacent the opening of said supply conduit and arranged to discharge a jet of air in a direction parallel to said Walls, a second air nozzle opposite the entrance to said delivery conduit and arranged to discharge a jet of air into the latter and in the direction of said conduit, and means for discharging air under equal pressure from both of said nozzles continuously during sanding of the track. I 1

4. A;track sanderhaving an unobstructed horizontal sand passage, a conduit for supplying sand to one end of said passage, a normally closed clean out passage communicating with said sand passage adjacent the opening of said supply conduit and inclined upwardly to a point such as to prevent the flow of sand therethrough by gravity when opened, a sand-delivery conduit angularly disposed with respect to said sand passage communicating with said sand passage at'the oppo-f site end, an air nozzle 'in the first named end of said sand passage arranged to discharge a jet of air through said sand passage in a direction substantially parallel thereto, a second air nozzle opposite the entrance to said'delivery conduit and arranged to discharge a jet of air into the latter and in the direction of said conduit, and means a for supplying air under pressure to both of said nozzles simultaneously continuously during sanding of the track. s

5. A track sander having an unobstructed horizontal sand passage, means for supplying sand to one end of said passage; a sand-delivery conduit angularly disposed with respect to said passage" communicating with said passage at the opposite end, an air nozzle in the first named end of said passage arranged to discharge a jet of air through said passage in a direction substantially parallel thereto, a second air nozzle opposite the entrance to said delivery conduit and arranged to discharge ajet of air into the latter and in the direction of said conduit, an unobstructed air passage connecting said nozzles, and means forsupplying ,air to said passage for supplying air under pressure to both of said nozzles simultaneouslycontinuously during sanding of the track.

6. A track sander having an unobstructed, straight, sand passage of substantially uniform cross-section, means. for supplying sand to one end of said passage, a sand-delivery conduitangularly disposed with respect to said passage com.- municating with said passage at the opposite end, an air nozzle in the first named end of said passage arranged to discharge a jet of air through said passage in a direction substantially parallel to the bottom wall thereof, a. second air nozzle opposite the entrance to said delivery conduit and arranged to discharge a jet of air into the WILLIAM J. HANLON; 

